Delta Limited Editions: A Cautionary Tale

[youstruckgold]

I have a few Deltas (including the Citta Reale) and have had no problem at all. My LEs are limited to a Bryant (gorgeous), the Blue Jay (magnificent) and another (I can't recall the name, but it has a dredel in the cap). I also have the Fountainpen.it LE Fusion and the Fusion 82 (not extreme-high end, but great pens). Haven't needed to send any back so can't comment on service. So sorry for your news. The Citta Reale is such a beautiful pen and I just love mine.

[chazz]

I have a few Deltas (including the Citta Reale) and have had no problem at all. My LEs are limited to a Bryant (gorgeous), the Blue Jay (magnificent) and another (I can't recall the name, but it has a dredel in the cap). I also have the Fountainpen.it LE Fusion and the Fusion 82 (not extreme-high end, but great pens). Haven't needed to send any back so can't comment on service. So sorry for your news. The Citta Reale is such a beautiful pen and I just love mine.

 

The Citta Reale is certainly the most beautiful pen I have ever come across. If I may ask, what is the number of your pen (in the lot of 750)?

 

My observation is that Delta LEs are produced over time. There is some attention paid to the early "numbers" but less so for the later ones. And this approach has gotten worse over time.

 

Looking just at the Citta Reale, for starters just compare the packaging in the first 250 "numbers" and in the last "250". (I took a look at quite a few, in different places, buying one.) The latter packaging is sloppier and of inferior material. Not that the observation did me any good in the end!

Edited July 8, 2013 by chazz

[chazz]

 

Indeed. One of the advantages of buying a used pen is that somebody else has probably taken care of any problems it had.

 

It can even be relatively new: I am thinking of buying a new high-end pen from http://www.nibs.com/

and I will be asking that someone actually fill it up and give it a proper test drive.

Edited July 8, 2013 by chazz

[Ghost Plane]

12 Deltas, most of them stubs, most purchased from Bryant, and they are part of my stable of heavy users because of their beautiful reliability. I'm sorry you got the "dog".

[chazz]

12 Deltas, most of them stubs, most purchased from Bryant, and they are part of my stable of heavy users because of their beautiful reliability. I'm sorry you got the "dog".

 

I'd be interested to know which Deltas you have. I too have a few and have tried a few others. As I indicated, my impressions are that (a) at the low to medium end, they tend to be OK, and, given the low cost, one is not likely to be too worked up over problems (e.g. the scratchy, "rusted-pitchfork" style nib I got on a Dolce Vita last year, or the wonky piston); ( Delta's quality control and service seem to be slipping over the years; © for LEs, the reliable ones are likely to be in the low "numbers".

[karmakoda]

Seems to me that the problems should have been resolved with the Delta reps in North America. The issues with duties charged in accordance with declared values, on items shipped internationally, applies to every country. On the one hand, anything over about a hundred dollars flips up a red flag to the Customs guys, but without accurately declaring value, you have no insurance. This kills international selling and makes representatives extremely important to business, they must have the ability to fix problems.

[chazz]

Seems to me that the problems should have been resolved with the Delta reps in North America. The issues with duties charged in accordance with declared values, on items shipped internationally, applies to every country. On the one hand, anything over about a hundred dollars flips up a red flag to the Customs guys, but without accurately declaring value, you have no insurance. This kills international selling and makes representatives extremely important to business, they must have the ability to fix problems.

 

I do purchase things (including pens) from different parts of the world, and I do send things to different parts of the world; so I am aware of issues relating to Customs duty.

 

The Customs duty was and is the least of my concern given all the money I had already spent on the pen and nibs, although it is now another reason to be irritated. What I wanted was the pen fixed, and the North American reps had already failed at that. In any case, while all countries do charge Customs duty, there are numerous variations, and one cannot simply say "every country". As regards the specific country in question, I have had to send a pen back to Omas, and the issue of duty at that end did not arise. But that was some years ago, and things may have changed.

 

The problem I have with Delta, which has nothing to do with the North American rep is this: When returning the pen, they should have included the paperwork (postage, copy of Customs form, whatever) showing that this was a used item (duty already paid the first time!) being returned from repair. They did not do that, despite a brief delay and request back to them, to provide more details, as the pen languished with the courier here. Because of that failure I had to pay the Customs duty.

[Ghost Plane]

 

I'd be interested to know which Deltas you have. I too have a few and have tried a few others. As I indicated, my impressions are that (a) at the low to medium end, they tend to be OK, and, given the low cost, one is not likely to be too worked up over problems (e.g. the scratchy, "rusted-pitchfork" style nib I got on a Dolce Vita last year, or the wonky piston); ( Delta's quality control and service seem to be slipping over the years; © for LEs, the reliable ones are likely to be in the low "numbers".

Sold about 5 really nice LEs in the Indigenous Peoples series because they were a trifle short bodied for me. They were awesome writers, either stubs or B nibs. 2 Profili B nibs - love the 14kt nibs on those - sold my Passion B nibs, also too short bodied for extended use. The balance are the Bryant pistons or Oro variants with stub nibs, a Roma and a Napoleon. I use them interchangeably with MBs due to their lovely ink capacity.

 

My current manuscript is sitting at 74,000 words to give you an idea how much writing I do. My pens don't jot notes, they get page after page after page of use with all variants of ink. I tend to stick with Iroshizuku these days, but they've had anything from Private Reserve to Herbin on board.

[Strang]

I have dozens of Deltas...yes, dozens. Most are high-end L.E. With one exception, they were all perfect out of the box - more reliable than my Stipulas, Auroras, and Viscontis. I only have a couple of Omas pens so I can't speak to them (except fit and finish on my Arco Milord is not up to Delta standards.) With the exception of Platinums and Nakayas, Deltas are my most reliable fountain pens.

[chazz]

^{To Ghost Plane & Strang:}

^{What are "numbers" (in the relevant series) of your LEs?}

Edited July 9, 2013 by chazz

[raging.dragon]

 

It can even be relatively new: I am thinking of buying a new high-end pen from http://www.nibs.com/

and I will be asking that someone actually fill it up and give it a proper test drive.

 

I've bought a few pens from nibs.com and they do that unless you specifically ask them not to. And if there are any problems, the proprietor (John Mottishaw) is a well reputed nib technician and pen repairman.

 

[chazz]

I'm curious if you'll hear anything back from them... If you do, please let us know.

 

In the interests of fairness, Delta got a copy of my "tale" before I posted it. Since posting, I have asked them to let me know if they dispute the accuracy of any part of it. (The last thing I need is some legal beagle chasing me.) From their silence, I take it that they are not on the least bit concerned, presumably---and one cannot argue with the logic there---how much can one unhappy customer hurt?

[Strang]

0397/1982, prototype, 126/931, 1506/1926, 02/23, 08/23, 0663/1569, 08/25, 0610/1642, 0584/1948, 032/200, 894/988, 225/541, 0614/1958, 2/2, 17/36, 08/25, 08/25, 03/23, 02/18, 23/23, 00/16, 08/50, and 08/08. I have two others, out on loan, but I'd be surprised if either one was a low number (the two North Americans.)

[chazz]

0397/1982, prototype, 126/931, 1506/1926, 02/23, 08/23, 0663/1569, 08/25, 0610/1642, 0584/1948, 032/200, 894/988, 225/541, 0614/1958, 2/2, 17/36, 08/25, 08/25, 03/23, 02/18, 23/23, 00/16, 08/50, and 08/08. I have two others, out on loan, but I'd be surprised if either one was a low number (the two North Americans.)

 

Thanks for taking the trouble to post all that. The 894/088 is the only one seems to be on the "dangerous" side. Some have high numbers in their respective series, but the total numbers are so low that I would presume attention to quality in the entire series.

 

Just out of curiosity, what are the ones after the 0614/1958? I'm especially "impressed" with the 2/2 and 00/16!

[Ghost Plane]

Not around the bulk of my collection. The only numbered one with me is 22/23 piston filler.

[raging.dragon]

 

Thanks for taking the trouble to post all that. The 894/088 is the only one seems to be on the "dangerous" side. Some have high numbers in their respective series, but the total numbers are so low that I would presume attention to quality in the entire series.

 

Just out of curiosity, what are the ones after the 0614/1958? I'm especially "impressed" with the 2/2 and 00/16!

 

I'd bet they're some of limited editions made for Bryant (Chatterley Luxuries). For what it's worth, from my collection:

 

Delta: 0115, 0570 (numbered but not limited)

Delta / Chatterley: 43 / 50, 24 / 32, 15 / 23, 0 / 23, ? / 23

[Strang]

 

Thanks for taking the trouble to post all that. The 894/088 is the only one seems to be on the "dangerous" side. Some have high numbers in their respective series, but the total numbers are so low that I would presume attention to quality in the entire series.

 

Just out of curiosity, what are the ones after the 0614/1958? I'm especially "impressed" with the 2/2 and 00/16!

That should have read "0614/1858" - the Puccini.

[chazz]

 

I'd bet they're some of limited editions made for Bryant (Chatterley Luxuries). For what it's worth, from my collection:

 

Delta: 0115, 0570 (numbered but not limited)

Delta / Chatterley: 43 / 50, 24 / 32, 15 / 23, 0 / 23, ? / 23

 

Thanks. That might explain a few things. My theory is that when Delta makes an LE in small numbers (e.g. less than 50), then attention is paid to quality control. Once they get into large numbers, then, on the basis of my observation, anything past the half-way mark in the numbering is risky. The other thing I am curious about is "piston" --- "cc" --- "lever-sac". Every lever-sac I have ever had from Delta gave me endless headaches.

[Strang]

 

Thanks. That might explain a few things. My theory is that when Delta makes an LE in small numbers (e.g. less than 50), then attention is paid to quality control. Once they get into large numbers, then, on the basis of my observation, anything past the half-way mark in the numbering is risky. The other thing I am curious about is "piston" --- "cc" --- "lever-sac". Every lever-sac I have ever had from Delta gave me endless headaches.

I missed one: the Marmo 18/18 and the only new Delta that ever gave me a lick of trouble (nib issues.)

[chazz]

I gave Yafa and Delta copies of my review before I posted it. I have had a response from Yafa, who seem rather coy as to why their technician did not properly test it before they sent it back. Still, they seemed to think it an unfortunate business and contacted Delta, although I assured then that after my experiences, I doubt that Delta cares about a single customer complaint, (I had another above-$1000 Delta pen that had required two trips to Italy before it could be put to regular use.) Sure enough, Delta seems to have indicated that they can't be bothered: their basic attitude is that "these things will happen sometimes", which fits rather nicely with their cavalier approach to quality control.

Edited July 11, 2013 by chazz